A Wish Upon a Shooting Star
by Duke of Life
Summary: Naruto hasn't always been without a family, once upon a time he met Nanashi Nijino, a girl his age, and her mother took him in. 15 years later, he on the 12th anniversry of her leaving he gets a mission that will change him forever, for good or for bad.
1. Prologue

Hiya, Kunoichi of Love here. This is the first fanfic I have ever posted. Hope you all like it.  
(Gaara pops out of nowhere)  
Me: Panda-chan!!!!! trys to hug him but is pushed away by sand and is glared at  
Gaara: Woman, what have I said about calling me that?  
Me:looks down sheepishly and shuffles feet to not to  
Gaara: Correct  
Me: Buuuuuuuuuuut, Gaaaaaraaaa-kuuuuuun!!!  
Gaara: Hn.  
Me: Don't you 'Hn' me, and say the disclaimer!  
Gaara: No.  
Me: Don't make me put you and Lee together as a couple! (No offense to anyone who likes that pairing. There are quite a few Lee/Gaara stories that I like a lot)   
Gaara: Fine, Kunoichi of Love does not own Naruto. Never has, never will.  
Me: pouts cutely Wish I did though.  
Gaara: But, you don't, because if you did Orochimaru would have never existed and Neji would treat Hinata better.  
Me: Plus Panda-Chan would've had a better life.  
Gaara: On to the story.

**"A Wish Upon a Shooting Star"  
prologue:  
**"Haha, just look at him he's pathetic," a pre-teen boy laughed as he kicked a small, blond, 6 year old boy.  
"Please stop it," the child cried as he felt a couple of ribs snap.  
He gasped with pain and tears ran down his face.  
"Why don't you fight back," another boy growled as he spit in the child's face.  
"S-stop it p-please!"  
"Why don't you make us?!"  
The boy's tears never stopped as the boys continued to pound his small, fragile body. They streaked down his dirty face leaving clean paths everywhere they touched. The blonde's body shuddered in pain when he felt an intense pain in he's right leg.  
Just as they were about to hurt him more, a rock whizzed by their heads and shattered on the wall behind them. Everyone turned to see a cute, 6 year old girl standing there determinedly. She had blood red eyes that glinted dangerously in the light. Her porcelain-skinned face was scrunched up angrily. She had snow-white hair that was tied up with a red ribbon.  
"Leave him alone," she demanded loudly.  
The boys snickered," Or what? You'll tell your mommy,"  
The girl calmly walked up and stared onto the tallest boy's eyes. She quickly brought back a fist and punched him as hard as she could, sending the boy to the ground coughing for the air that was stolen.  
"I'll repeat myself once, leave him alone!"  
Every boy was out of that alleyway before you could say 'bye bye'.  
The girl walked over to the blond and after a good bit of struggling got him to his feet.  
"T-thank y-you," he whispered sincerely.  
"No prob. My name's Nanashi, what's yours?"  
"Naruto Uzumaki"  
"Ok, Naru-kun. I'm going to take you to my house my family is staying in. We just moved here and my mommy's a medic-nin. She can help you. We live just around the corner."  
"Thank y-you Nana-chan."  
Nanashi simply nodded.  
"You're going to have to try to walk just a little bit.'  
Naruto weakly nodded and allowed her to lead him, but he passed out just as they turned the corner. Nanashi slowly dragged him to the door and threw it open.  
"Mommy! Help!"  
Nanashi's mother ran in. Her ebony hair flowed behind her and her red eyes showed concern when she saw Naruto.  
" 'Nashi! What happened!?"  
"Some boys were beating him up."  
"OK, Nana go get the guest bed ready. I'm going to bring him up and heal him."  
"Alright, please be ok Naru-kun," Nana said as she rushed up stairs.

"Owwwww, what happened to me," Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes and saw a head of black hair.  
"So your awake Naruto," the head said looking up with red eyes  
"W-w-who a-are yo-you," Naruto whimpered skittishly.  
"There's no need to be afraid. I'm Kachiko Nijino, Nanashi's mother," the woman said kindly and smiled brightly at the boy.  
"What happened? I remember Nana-chan helping me around the corner and then nothing."  
Kachiko smiled and pulled a nearby chair to the bed and sat down.  
" 'Nashi said you passed out as you passed the corner. Naruto if you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"  
Naruto sighed loudly and answered," I'm an orphan, but I was kicked out of the orphanage 2 weeks ago. I've been sleeping in the park."  
"I'm sorry, but would you like to stay here?"  
Naruto perked up at hearing this and grinned widely.  
"Really!?"  
Of course, I'm sure Nanashi would like you to stay."  
At that precise moment said girl came bursting in.  
"Really!!! Can Naru-kun stay?"  
Kachiko chuckled and answered," If he wants to."  
"Would I ever!!"  
With that Naruto moved in. Kachiko treated him like a son and Nana and him were attached to the hip. You could not separate those to for their lives. If you saw 1 you would always know the other one was nearby. Naruto never had problems with bullies anymore, Nanashi made sure of that, and Naruto became as happy as any 6 year old boy as he lived happily with the Nijino family.  
One night, 2 years later, the two were laying outside in their back yard, during a crystal clear night, looking at the stars.  
"Ohhhh, Naru-kun! Look! I see the little dipper," Nanashi giggled happily pointing towards it.  
"Awesome!"  
They lay there silently until Nanashi squealed loudly.  
'What is it?"  
"Look a shooting star!"  
Naruto looked at the small streak of light.  
"Make a wish Naru-kun."  
"Ummmmmm," Naruto thought. "I know. I wish that we will always be together, and ever if we were separated we will always find each other."  
"That's a good wish Naru-kun, though I hope we will never be apart."  
"Me too. Well come on. We need to go to bed Nana-chan," Naruto chirped as he helped her up and walked inside with the girl clinging to his hand.  
Next day  
"Come on Nana-chan! We have to take Kachiko her groceries."  
"I know."  
Nana ran and caught up with the blond. Naruto stopped mid-step as heard yelling inside the house.  
Nana stopped as well when she hears it. It was Kachiko and 1 of the elders.  
"I don't care what you say! Naruto's going with us!"  
"I'm sorry Nijino-san, but Naruto cannot leave the village."  
"Why the heck not!? Naruto is apart of our family! I'm not leaving him!"  
"I will say this 1 more time, I'm sorry! I shall take Naruto with me and the 2 ANBU will take you to wave."  
Naruto burst in and clung to Kachiko's leg.  
"Nooo!!! I'm staying with them! You're not going to take me away!"  
Nana clinged to Naruto.  
"Don't take Naru-kun from me!"  
The elder forcefully pried Naruto from Kachiko's leg and 1 of the ANBU held on to Nanashi. Both were fighting against the grasps to get back to each other.  
"Naru-kun, don't take Naru-kun away," Nana sobbed fiercely as the struggling boy was taken from her sight.  
That was the last time either of them saw each other. Naruto never understood why he was taken away from his adopted family until 3 years later when he finally graduated from the Ninja Academy and learned of the creature, the demon that was sealed inside of him, The Kyuubi. It was at that moment that he understood. He was a liability to the village; therefore he was never allowed to be a citizen of any other village.

12 years later  
Naruto woke in a cold sweat as he remembered that day 12 years ago. The day Nanashi was taken away from him. Nanashi Nijino, the girl who plagued and still plagues his thoughts. Nana-chan he called her. He could not help but to feel a twinge of pain even though he had never laid eyes on her since that day. 'Funny,' he thought. 'When you think about what we were talking about the night before.'  
He laid there and tried to return to sleep, as it was only 3AM, but sleep evaded him. Instead he thought about the feeling of guilt he got every time he flirted with Sakura, about how sometimes he wished it was Nana instead, and what all that meant.  
" I couldn't be in love with Nanashi...Could I?"  
Naruto turned to the window and stared at the stars.  
"I can see the little dipper,' he thought sadly as tears stung the corners of his eyes.  
He barely saw a flash of light as his eyes lowered shut.  
"A shooting star, Nana-chan! Make a wish," He said out loud as sleep finally caught up with him.

"Naruto," a beautiful girl sighed as she looked up at the darkened sky from her backyard. She was lying on the ground with her snow-white, thigh-length hair sprawled around her. Her blood-colored eyes were glazed over as she went down memory lane.  
flashback

_"Leave him alone!" ...  
"No prob. My name's Nanashi, what's yours?"  
"Naruto Uzumaki"  
"Really!!! Can Naru-kun stay?"  
" If he wants to."  
"Would I ever!!"  
"Make a wish Naru-kun."  
"Nooo!!! I'm staying with them! You're not going to take me away!"  
"Naru-kun, don't take Naru-kun away!"  
_end flashback  
Nanashi sighed loudly as she continued to look at the sky.  
"I can see the little dipper," She said sadly as she was getting up to leave. She was about to walk inside when she saw a streak of light pass overheard and heard a voice carried in the wind," A shooting star, Nana-chan! Make a wish."

(A/N So wadya think? Please review and tell me what you think even if it's 'I hate your story! You should never write again' Also I take Anonymous reviews. I also want to know if you want me to continue or if it should just be a one-shot. Thank you for reading!!!!! Kunoichi of Love)


	2. The Mission

K.L-Hiya! This is the 1st chapter of my story "A Wish upon a Shooting Star". I hope you enjoy it!!!!!

Disclaimer: See last chapter

Chapter 1: The Mission

Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Nara Shikamaru stood in front of Tsunade. She was sitting in her desk, with Shizune and Iruka behind her.

"I have called you here for a mission, obviously. You are to travel to the village hidden in the mist. The Mizukage's 7 year old daughter has been threatened by rogue ninjas. They appear to be about low to mid Chunnin level so it should not be much of a problem. Report to the front gate at 9:00pm tomorrow. Dismissed!"

The 3 Shinobi nodded and left the room.

Tsunade slumped in her chair, worry etched onto her face. Naruto had not spoken once!

"Iruka," she questioned. She turned towards him.

"Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"Do you know what is wrong with Naruto?"

Iruka smiled knowingly.

"Noticed huh? Don't be too worried. He gets like this week of the year."

"Would you mind telling me why?"

"15 years ago Naruto had a huge problem with bullies. 2wks, after his 6 birthday, a particular violent bunch of boys got a hold of him and started to beat him up. No one had ever stood up for him until that day. A new family had moved to Konoha and their 6 year old daughter, Nanashi, chased the boys away from him. She took him to her mother, Kachiko, a medic-nin, and she healed him. When Kachiko found out that Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage on his 6th birthday she insisted that he stay with her. Nanashi and Naruto became attached at the hip and you would never find one without the other. 2 years later, the only family Naruto had ever known was being forced to wave. Kachiko said that she would not leave without him and stated that he was part of the family. The elders refused and had to, quite literally, pry Naruto from Nanashi," Iruka bit out the last part with hatred.

Tsunade was momentarily taken aback by the amount of hatred radiating from the man before her and then smiled.

"Do you know how much you act like a father to that boy?"

Iruka chuckled," Your one to talk. Nobody else would be able to call you Baa-Chan' and survive with all 4 limbs." Iruka looked down and smirked. "Oh, and I think your hands are betraying your calmness."

Inside of the hokage's grasp was her 10 pound lead weight in three pieces.

"Heh, I'm going to go destroy a couple trees," she muttered and walked out the door.

Shizune followed. "Tsunade-sama! Remember your blood-pressure!"


	3. Waking Up

Disclaimer: I don't own nothin' except a ball of lent  
Chapter 2-Waking up  
**"Kyuubi speak"**

Naruto groaned loudly as the sound of his alarm blared in his ears. He stretched cat-like and yawned loudly. Getting up, he walked over to the closet and grabbed a midnight-blue muscle shirt and a pair of black cargo pants. He stopped wearing orange when Sakura threatened his manhood. He quickly grabbed a pair of clean boxers and ran over to the bathroom. He stole a quick glance into the full-length mirror on his wall and chuckled to himself. His looks at the moment were good. He wasn't bulky, like a body-builder or lanky, like a schoolboy. Just well defined. He was no longer the short one in the group and easily had 4 inches on Neji, who was 5' 11", making him a least 6' 3". His hair's color had lightened a little bit and now went past his shoulder blades. His eyes stayed the same bright blue you could drown in. The only difference was that the pupils were now slitted like a foxes, a side effect of reaching 6 tails without losing his sanity. His fan clubs' were larger than Sasuke's.  
"Heh, if I knew how much a problem those girls were, I would have been more sensitive to Sasuke. They can be darn scary sometimes," he mused out loud.  
Sasuke. Naruto had finally succeeded in bringing the man back 4 years before when they were 16, though he had to break every bone in the idiot's body. Surprisingly Sasuke had confessed his love for Sakura and they got married 2 years later. Everyone else had found someone too. Hinata had given up her futile crush and started dating Kiba, Shino got married to Hana, Kiba's older sister, Ino had Choji, Shikamaru had Temari, Neji and Ten-Ten, and Lee had his training. Everyone had someone except Naruto, sure the girls had tried countless times to set him up, but no of them lasted more than 2 weeks.  
**"That's because you're holding out for someone special,"** Kyuubi snickered as he sent Naruto some images of him and a certain white-haired girl, some of which could put Jiraiya's books to shame.  
Naruto turned many interesting shades of red as he sputtered indignantly. Kyuubi howled with laughter as Naruto growled.  
'Shut up you perverted bag of fleas,' he shoved the fox back into his sub-conscious. Though he knew deep down he was right.  
He turned to look at his clock and face-faulted.  
"CRAP," He yelled and pulled on his sandals with a speed that could put Lee to shame. He was late and Sakura was going to kill him!


	4. Meeting Kisa

K.L- Hiya I hope you enjoy the next chapter in 'A Wish Upon a Shooting Star  
(Lee pops out of no where)  
Lee-Yosh! Your flames of youth burn brightly Angel!  
(rush towards each other)  
K.L.- Lee  
Lee- Love  
K.L.-Lee!  
Lee-Love!  
K.L.-LEE!!!  
Lee-LOVE!!!  
Readers-Get on with it  
(Grins and jumps into Lee's arms)  
K.L.- Lee-kun say the disclaimer  
Lee- Yosh! Kunoichi of Love does not own Naruto.  
K.L.-(starts crying into Lee's shoulder)  
Lee- there, there you do own the plot and Nanashi and any other OC's  
K.L.-(Brightens up) Your right and no one can use them without my permission

Chapter 3- Meeting Kisa

"I can't believe he's late Shikamaru," Sakura groaned in exasperation.  
Naruto was at least 40mins. late, and he had never been late before.  
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered before he replied nonchalantly," You guys had Kakashi as a teacher, one of you was bound to pick up his tardiness."  
Sakura opened her mouth to retort when Naruto dropped out of the sky at her feet.  
"Sakura-chan, help me," He whimpered as a pack of rabid fan girls approached. He hid in a nearby bush.  
The leader skidded to a stop in front of her, her eyes in a hormone-induced craze.  
"Which way'd he go," She hissed dangerously at Sakura and Shikamaru.  
Sakura sweat dropped and pointed to the Hokage Monument. The girl nodded and ran off with the others following. As soon as they were out of sight, Naruto popped out of the bush and took a leaf out of his hair.  
"Sorry I'm late," he shrugged and walked out of the gate.  
The others ran to catch up.  
------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------  
It's been 3 days now since the team of Jounin left Konoha, and Shikamaru and Sakura were nearing the brink of insanity. It was nothing but silence the whole trip. Naruto had not spoken a word at all, and to top it all off he was completely oblivious to his teammate's mental states. Which were totally unstable? Shikamaru had resorted to talking to himself and currently Sakura had reached her limit and burst.  
"GOD DANG IT!!!!!!! SAY SOMETHING ALREADY NARUTO," She screamed causing the surrounding birds to scatter.  
Naruto jumped and spun around to face the pink-haired girl.  
"Huh? Did you say something Sakura-chan," he asked innocently.  
Sakura screamed and lunged at the blonde, but thankfully the appearance of 2 patrolling ANBU stopped her from inflicting serious pain to our favorite 1# Knuckle-headed Ninja.  
"Who goes there," one of spoke loudly causing Sakura to stop in her tracks.  
The nin was obviously a girl. She wore the normal ANBU outfit and her mask was one of a cat. She had black hair.  
The other seemed to be another girl and she too wore the normal outfit and her mask was one of a falcon. She had red hair the color of Gaara's.  
Naruto chose this exact moment to wake out of his daze.  
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and these are my teammates; Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru. You've probably already noticed that we are Konoha nin. We were hired by Mizukage-sama to eliminate the threat to his 7 year old daughter."  
The team walked up to the Kunoichis and handed them their identification.  
The red head looked over them and handed them back.  
"Very well. Hakunochi-sama is expecting you," turning away from them she beckoned them to follow. "Follow me," she commanded and the other ANBU left.  
They walked over to a rather large gate that was obviously under a genjutsu.  
They walked into the village and followed her to the Mizukage's office.  
As the ANBU opened the door, a blur rushed out and tackled Naruto to the floor.  
A little girl was sitting on his stomach grinning like a maniac. She had light lavender hair and dark purple eyes. She wore a black ribbon in her hair and a black frilly dress.  
Sakura squealed in delight," Cuuuute!"  
Shikamaru smirked.  
"Hiya! My name's Kisa Moruna. My Papa's the Mizukage!"


	5. Nanashi's Truth

Disclaimer: Do you see a flashing, neon sign pointing to me saying that I own Naruto...I think not!!! Naruto is own by the genius Masashi Kishimoto  
If there's any confusion about the ages, Naruto, Nanashi, and the rookie nine are 21, team Gai is 22.  
Chapter 4- Nanashi's Truth

My life. My life has been nothing less than the deepest, darkest pit of hell. Let me start from the beginning. April 16th, 16 years ago is when my story really begins. I was only 5 and had already went through such pain that would make an interrogator cringe, I never understood why until I heard a man call me a demon as he slashed a kunai across my shoulder. I asked my mother why as she healed me.  
flashback  
My mother had just healed my shoulder and sat down by my bed to catch her breath.  
"Mommy," I asked innocently, a confused look on my face.  
"Yes, Nanashi?"  
"That man called me a demon?"  
Though that sentence was meant to be a statement , it came out as a question.  
"Why?"  
Mother sighed loudly and sadness flickered across her face as she pulled me into her lap.  
" 'Nashi, do you remember the demon attack 5 years ago?"  
"Of course," I chirped happily, seeing as I remembered something from the academy. "The evil demon Nibi, the 2-tailed cat, attacked the village hidden in the mist, our village, but Sandaime-sama defeated her, but at the cost of his own life and the life of the baby he sealed her in," I stated matter-of-factly.  
Mother chuckled lightly.  
"Hai, hai, but, Sweetie, the truth is that the baby never died."  
What," I gasped, tilting my head slightly like a puppy.  
"It's true," Mother confirmed, nodding slightly.  
"Really?! Who is she...or is it a he? Do I know them," I babbled quickly.  
Mother chuckled again.  
"The baby was a she, and you happen to know her very well."  
I blinked cutely and scrunched up my face as I thought. After a few minutes I pouted.  
"But I don't know who I could be Mommy."  
"Nanashi, Hunny, It's you," Mother spoke calmly.  
"It's me? But that doesn't explain why he called me a demon. I'm only housing Nibi," I spoke calmly and then my eyes widened to the size of plates.  
"I'm...not Nibi...am I, Mommy?"  
"No sweetheart. Though we know that, some people do not. A lot of people refuse to acknowledge the truth while they are hurting. Nibi killed a lot of people the day she attacked; mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, and so many more, they refuse to realize that you are a human being just like them. They know somewhere in their hearts that what they do is wrong. By believing that you are Nibi they are able to seek revenge for the lost loved ones on you," Mother explained gently as tears ran down her face.  
"But Momma?! That's stupid," I pouted in disdain.  
"I know sweetie, but a lot of things humans do are stupid and it'll always be that way."  
"Oh," I muttered sadly.  
end of flashback  
I lost some of my innocence that day and I still don't understand the actions of others.


	6. Rage

Disclaimer: This is so tiresome! I mean really, do you think I would be on a **fanfiction** site if I owned Naruto? The keyword is **fan**! I'm just an obsessed fan who is borrowing Naruto for my own selfish reasons.  
(note! If there's any confusion about age, Naruto, Nanashi, and the rest of the rookie nine are 21, and team Gai is 22.)

Chapter 5- Rage

"Man that was troublesome," Shikamaru groaned.  
They had just finished their mission and were spending a little R&R in the mist village. A festival was going on celebrating some kind of defeat for the village, and the Mizukage insisted that they stay for it.  
"For once I agree with you Shikamaru! I mean they weren't even Chunin-level," Naruto exclaimed loudly.  
He had been reverting back to his normal bubbly self, courtesy of Kisa. It was rather impossible to be around that bundle of pure happiness and stay depressed for any length of time.  
"Hey you guy-" Sakura was cut off by a scream.  
"Please don't! She never did anything to you," a woman's voice screamed.  
Naruto froze almost immediately. He knew that voice! It was someone who had been a structure of his life for almost 3 years, Kachiko Nijino. He turned around and faced the crying woman. The ebony-haired woman was fighting against the grasps of 2 ninjas as a white-haired girl, his age was dragged up to a stage -- chained to 2 posts -- and stripped of her clothes down to her underwear. Realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks, NANASHI!!! Her tried to get to her, but was paralyzed to the spot. He felt sick at his stomach as a man dressed in black brought out a whip made to tear the flesh off of bones and handed it to another man with a baby-doll face, but with ice-cold green eyes that burned into your very soul. His mouth twisted into an evil sneer as he looked at Nanashi. He turned to the large crowd and raised his hand to silence them.  
"I give you the demoness, Nibi," He cried triumpht.  
The crowd burst into a furious uproar of applause as her slashed Nanashi's stomach and a chunk of flesh dropped to the ground. Nanashi whimpered pitifully and blood soaked her entire front half.  
Naruto shook with rage, his chakra flaring up around him. He growled loudly as his feature changed to that of his Kyuubi form.  
The man raised his whip and struck the whimpering girl once more. Blood splattered onto her pale face as she let out a blood-curdling scream. The scent of her blood reached Naruto's nose and he roared with anger -- killing-intent radiating off his body.  
Just as the man lifted his arm once more to strike her once more, Naruto body-flickered in front of the man and grabbed his hand in a death grip -- crushing the bones.  
"NEVER TOUCH HER AGAIN," he growled lowly and dangerously.  
He started to slash at the man's face repeatedly with his claws in his demonic rage.  
Sakura and Shikamaru released Nanashi and she hobbled over to Naruto and gently wrapped her arms around his neck. Shikamaru opened his mouth to stop her, but Sakura shook her head, stopping him.  
Nanashi buried her face into the crook of his neck and breathed deeply.  
"Vanilla, cherries, and ramen. Just like I remember," She muttered quietly and gently.  
Naruto raised his hand to go in for the kill, but Nanashi stopped him.  
"Naruto! Stop it! Please just stop, Naru-kun," She sobbed into his neck, her tears landing softly on his shirt.  
Naruto's growls softened as his claws went back to nails, his chakra disappeared, and his eyes turn back to blue.  
He threw the shivering man away.  
"Leave! If you value your pathetic life," He said in a calm voice that predicted a slow and painful death, had he not complied. He did, to no surprise.  
He embraced Nanashi tightly.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Um hum," Nana muttered contently.  
Naruto swept her off her feet, bridal-style and wondered briefly if the next time that happened would be at their wedding, if everything went the way he wanted it to, as he walked towards Kachiko.  
"Come on, let's take you home and Kachiko can heal you."  
He beckoned his friends and comrades to follow as he walked towards to happy-sad-angry-ecstatic woman.  
Kachiko smiled lovingly at Naruto and led then to a nearby house. Unlocking the door and opening it, she took Nana from Naruto, for much of his displeasure and told them to sit down in the homey front room, decorated in daisies.  
20 mins. of silence later  
Kachiko slowly came down the stairs.  
"Naruto," She spoke softly and opened her arms.  
Naruto ran into them and started sobbing, loudly and openly.  
"I missed you so much," He whimpered, cling to her for dear life.  
Sakura and Shikamaru were shocked to say the least. They had never, and I mean never saw Naruto cry in the 12 years that they knew him.  
After about 15 minutes of hysterical cries, Naruto calmed down enough to walk back to the others. They both sat down in the sunshine yellow chairs in front of the couch and got ready for the Q&A.  
Sakura looked kindly at the motherly woman in front of her.  
Kachiko smiled again and then smack her forehead. "I'm sorry I totally forgot! My name is Kachiko Nijino."  
Sakura smiled and introduced herself," Hello Nijino-san, I'm Sakura Haruno."  
Shikamaru just raised his hand in acknowledgement, causing Sakura to gain a tick in her forehead.  
"Shikamaru! You lazy ass! Introduce yourself," She growled angrily and smacked him roughly on his head.  
Naruto chuckled at his friends' antics and grinned widely.  
Shikamaru rubbed the large bump on his head and muttered," Sorry Nijino-san, my name's Shikamaru Nara."  
"No problem. I have a feeling you would like to know how we know Naruto."  
Both nodded.  
"Hai!!!"  
"But first we want to know what happened back there," Sakura added quickly.  
"My daughter has a condition, something that separates her from the villagers, they hate her, despise her."  
Naruto's eyes were downcast and shadowed, he shook as he clutched the shirt above his heart.  
"Jinchuuriki."  
That one word he muttered caused Kachiko's eyes to widen and her head snapped to face him.  
"How did you-"  
Naruto cut Kachiko off," I never did understand why I was not aloud to leave the village with you to live here in mist, until I was 12 and was told rather harshly about the creature sealed inside of me. I too am a Jinchuuriki. Inside of me I hold the nine-tails, Kyuubi, king of the demons himself."  
Sakura and Shikamaru were not surprised at all, seeing as when they were 16, Naruto told all of his friends. Everyone took it in stride and support Naruto as friends should do.  
"I still don't know why they did that to her," Sakura mumbled quietly.  
Naruto looked at her straight in the eyes." You don't not know much about my past do you? We are all brought up differently, taught different things. Life moves as it has since life on this world began. But with all life, no matter how you live or how you were taught, there are certain obstacles that everyone has to face. Though each persons hurdle may be different than their neighbor, they still prove challenging. To live in this world of chaos and war we have to fight. Many learn how to jump over their hurdle successfully and go on with the next one in front of them, and yet many others stop before they jump thinking that's they can't make it, that it's way too high. Whether they stop because they're afraid or because they don't have enough confidence in themselves waits to be seen in everyone who wishes to follow this path.

To live or to die, to give up completely and throw in the towel… these two choices are infinite in the human race and as long as the human race endures then these choices will remain. But what would happen if, by chance, these choices were taken from someone? If someone's will to live or to die was taken from them? What would happen if that person had to rely on their tormentor for freedom, to live, or for their salvation? Many times the captured will try to escape their bonds by any means possible, but to only be brought back down…only to suffer more. The strong will live to hopefully see another sunrise and the weak…the weak will be consumed in either the fires of hatred or they will slowly rot away. Many times they will lose all hope and die on the inside while they remain alive physically, broken and battered. Then again, some wounds are only skin deep and time can not heal them all, and for that reason people have trouble getting over their pain and loss and choose not to find a way to deal with it all and channel their anger at someone who does not deserve their wrath. That is the main reason Jinchuuriki are isolated, hated, and hurt."  
Everyone looked at Naruto shocked beyond words. Since when had he gotten so smart?  
Kachiko was the first to snap out of her daze. She reached over and ruffled the blonde's hair playfully.  
"What happened to the little blonde bundle of energy with the innocence of an angel that I used to tuck in at night," She teased lovingly.  
Naruto smiled genuinely and answered," He grew up...on a further note. I'm not leaving you here. You are going to return to Konoha with me."  
Kachiko sighed and turned to face the boy.  
"Naruto I don't know if we can leave," She stated sadly.  
Naruto flew up from his chair his eyes hard as he walked to the stairs. Turning around he stated firmly and with finality in his voice," I Don't care Kachiko-chan! I'll find some way to allow you to come with me, if I have to fight my way through the entire ninja force of the village!" Naruto turned away and stated sadly," I already lost you once, I'm not about to let that happen again."  
Naruto walked quickly up the stairs. Sakura and Shikamaru were shocked for the umpteenth time that day.  
Kachiko chuckled slightly. "That boy is as hard-headed as ever," She mumbled.


End file.
